Housing inventories picked up modestly in March, offering some hope to home buyers who are grousing about slim pickings, according to a report released Wednesday.

The number of homes listed for sale in March jumped by 2.4% from February and has increased by 3.5% from January, according to data compiled by Realtor.com. Inventories typically rise in the spring as the peak home-sales season begins, and the recent uptick is outpacing last year’s increase of 2% from January to March. Inventories were still 15% below their levels of a year ago.

Inventories in March rose by nearly 14% in San Francisco, though they are still down by nearly 38% from one year ago. Other cities with large monthly inventory jumps included Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, which were both up around 9%, and Boston and Philadelphia, which saw inventories rise by nearly 8%.

Inventories dropped by 13% in Orange County, Calif., and are down by nearly 58% from one year ago, while Los Angeles posted a monthly drop of nearly 4%, leaving listed inventories at nearly half the level of one year ago.

Listings have dropped over the past two years as banks have slowed down foreclosures, investors have converted homes into the rental market, and would-be sellers have held out for higher prices. Demand has jumped as low mortgage rates have made housing extremely affordable.

Homes are also spending less time on the market. In Sacramento, Calif., half of all homes sold in fewer than 19 days, down from 60 days one year ago. Half of homes sold within 24 days in Denver, 26 days in Seattle, and 29 days in San Diego. Among the cities with the longest listing periods: half of homes sold within 88 days in Las Vegas, 87 days in Cleveland, and 84 days in New York. Nationally, half of all homes sold within 78 days, down from 89 days on year ago.

Median asking prices were mostly flat on a national basis in March, but they rose in 29 of the top 30 metro areas. Asking prices were up by almost 14% in Los Angeles, 9% in Orange County, Calif., and 6% in Detroit and Jacksonville, Fla.

The Realtor.com figures include sale listings from more than 800 multiple-listing services across the country. They don’t cover all homes for sale, including those that are “for sale by owner” and newly constructed homes that aren’t always listed by the services.